Welcome To the 66th Annual Hunger Games!
by Blue Eyes Arch Angel
Summary: *Reupload* Another year of pain,blood and honor for the twelve districts of Panem. But who will triumph and prove their worth this year? What events will occur and who will win the crowd? Read on the find out!
1. The District 1 Reaping

**I'm back! From now,i'll be doing the districts in order and know this:I will persist with this story no matter what! Also,i kind of need ideas for escorts/mentors so please PM me those!**

**For now, here's the next reaping for district 1!**

**30 minutes before the reaping, a glamorous house**

Amber was sat alone in her room, brushing her long beautiful black hair in front of her extravagant mirror. After a few more strokes, she put down the brush and looked at herself in the mirror. It was true, she was a very pretty girl. Aside from her long black hair, her eyes were a cute shade of brown. Body wise, she was very tall, curvy, slim (at a weight of 109lbs) and what men would definitely consider sexy. To top that all off, she was also sweet, kind and sensitive. Some would say she was perfect. Though underneath all that she was also very flirtatious. She would be on any good looking guy that turned up at her door.

Amber smiled to the mirror and got up out of her seat. She made her way over to the royal blue wardrobe by the window. Using her delicate fingers, she opened it and reached inside to pull out a long, gorgeous blue dress. She brought back over to the mirror and held it up, twirling it around a bit. Through her admiring she was interrupted by her mother walking in.

"Admiring yourself in the mirror again?" She asked her daughter.

"Well, more admiring my beautiful dress" was Amber's reply. Her mother smiled and chuckled.

"Well I can also bet you'll also be admiring the men later as well" her mother said, chuckling a bit louder.

"Mother!"

Amber pouted and sat down. Her mother joined her.

"…I understand you probably won't be volunteering this year" Amber's mother said seriously. Amber looked up sadly and nodded. For Amber, today was the reaping, but it also marked the day of when her sister was led to her death. It was harsh, shocking news for Amber's family, and it also put her off volunteering this year despite the fact she had been training nearly her whole life. Silence fell between the mother and daughter for a few minutes. Then, her mother lit up.

"Well, at least this means I have less chance of losing another daughter" she said soothingly, putting a finger under Amber's chin, lifting it.

"…Your right mother" Amber said sweetly "oh no! I still need to get ready, the reaping is in 15 minutes!"

Amber's mother nodded hurriedly and left, leaving Amber to prepare herself for the event.

**3 hours before the reaping, training fields**

Gleam threw another knife at the target, getting yet another bull's-eye. Yes, he knew today was the reaping but he thought a little last minute training couldn't hurt. So there he was, with his two triplet sisters Sublime and Majesty, as well as his cousins Crystal, Shine, Glow and Glitter. They were all putting in some last minute training too. Well, except for Glitter. She was only 9 years old and not eligible yet, so she was just there to watch and support.

"Nice shot!" his little cousin Glitter shouted out. He turned round and grinned at her, almost with a cold-blooded smile. That smile went well with the rest of his looks. It was no lie that Gleam was a handsome man, but more in a 'boy next door' sort of style. He had short wavy blond hair, and a pair of dark brown eyes which went well with his mildly tanned skin. He had a squarish, strong jaw and well as strong muscles. At first glance he didn't seem like a cold-blooded killer, though those who knew him knew he had the potential.

"We should probably be getting back soon; we still need to get ready" his sister Majesty said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Can't we just train for a little while longer?" He asked them irritably. It just seemed a little weak, they had plenty of time before the reaping the get themselves ready.

"Oh yes, because Mr Top 5 Swordsman and Top 15 Archer STILL wants to practise, I need to start getting ready soon so I can pick the perfect dress, after all what if I'm picked? I need to make a good impression" Gleam's sister Sublime answered back to him. A little while longer would have been nice, but it is true that he should probably make himself look his best. After all, if he was going to volunteer he wanted to make the best impression.

Gleam turned and nodded to his cousins, who responded and followed after him as he left.

**The Reaping**

The area and stage for the reaping was very majestically decorated. Everything was lined with beautiful flowers, bright streamers or jewels. It certainly did prove that district 1 was a rich place. Every young man and woman there also dressed in the most extravagant outfits as well. Amber had just arrived, dressed in the same long blue dress she pulled out of her wardrobe earlier. As she walked by, some of the boys whistled and gave her catcalls. She simply smiled sweetly and winked at them. She then went and found her place in the girls section. Shortly after Gleam, his sisters and his cousins (excluding Glitter) had also arrived. Gleam was dressed in a very bright outfit indeed. It was a bright white suit and a tie was studded with many diamonds. On the ring finger of his hand was also a small diamond ring, which he was also going the use as his token.

After they had also found their places, the escort had also entered the place. Unlike the other escorts, this one was dressed far more brightly and extravagantly, matching the area. Her dress consisted of bright fabrics of every colour imaginable, encrusted with every kind of jewel imaginable. Feathers of bright colours would placed in her thick hair to match the the light, it was utterly blinding. The shining woman stepped up (awkwardly) to the microphone.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentleman! I am your escort for this year, Sparkler Sistronome. Today is a special day where once again, one heroic man and woman will come forth to participate in the 66th annual hunger games! But first, a film that I have brought straight from the capitol, especially for all of you"

Everyone paid full attention to the film, taking in every word of it. Once it finished, two gleaming glass bowls were brought out, filled with small pieces of paper.

"Now it is time to select our tributes, girls first. Are there any volunteers?"

Complete silence.

'Unusual, no volunteers' Amber thought curiously to herself.

"Very well then, I will select a name" Sparkler announced. She reached awkwardly and pulled out a name from the glass bowl.

"Amber Flames!"

Seems it was pointless not volunteering after all. Her position as tribute for this year was inevitable. Nonetheless, Amber put on her sweet face and made her way up gracefully to the stage, smiling at her audience. Several of the boys whistled again.

Gleam smirked at seeing his soon to be district partner. She seemed cute, strong and also kind of sexy. He could tell he was going to like her.

"Alright then!" Sparkler exclaimed "time for the boys, any volunteers from here?"

This was Gleam's chance.

"I volunteer as tribute!" he shouted as loud as possible. All turned to look at him, but with looks of pride. Taking in the looks of approval, he made his way to the stage, all the while soaking in the cheers, the honour and the admiration. He had to admit it was giving him quite a euphoric high. It had to be the single greatest moment of his life so far.

"So then young man, what is your name?" The flamboyant escort asked him.

"Gleam Jewett"

"Very well then, we have our tributes for this year! Amber Flames and Gleam Jewett! Now shake hands!"

Amber and Gleam turned to each other and gladly took each other's hand. They both scanned each other briefly and smiled.

"May the odds be ever in your favour" They said proudly to one another.

As they left, they were still followed with the echoes of the crowd's cheers.


	2. The District 2 Reaping

**Alright, here are the tributes for district 2!**

**5 hours before the reaping, backstreets of district 2**

Alanta Haines dodged yet another punch. Her assailant lashed back at her with wild punches, all of which she was able to dodge with ease. The man leapt at her again and again, but she continued to make quick, sharp movements that got her out of danger each time. As soon as she got the chance, Alanta pulled back her arm and threw a punch at her opponent. Unfortunately, it didn't connect. The man grinned as he gripped her delicate fist. He then threw her arm to the ground, her body falling with her. Alanta groaned and pushed herself up, but not surprised to see her opponent offering her a hand, which she didn't take. Alanta got up and mumbled miserably. The man shook his head.

"That was good Alanta but you're still lacking with the punches there"

"Yeah I know, so shut up" she said irritably to her father. True, she should have improved in this by now, considering she had been training her whole life and she was being mentored by a former victor. However, she just got so irritated when she lost like this.

"Well you need to pick this up already. After all, today is the reaping and if you want to win the games then you need to shape up" Alanta's father said sharply. Sometimes he just couldn't get through to his daughter. She was a strong girl, of a tall height with quite an athletic build thanks to his training. She had beautiful light brown hair, which at the moment was being kept in a ponytail so the bangs wouldn't get in the way of her light grey eyes. She was persistent in training, although she could have a bit of a temper at times which could prove difficult for people who irritated her.

Alanta looked at her father's face and relaxed slightly. After all, there was no need to get worked up right now. After all, that could wait for the arena. The two's thoughts were broken however as some loud music suddenly started blaring from over by one of the weapons factories.

"…Must be one of Feb's parties" Alanta mumbled. 'That kid was so irritating, always so arrogant…'

"Alanta"

"What?" She spat.

"…Let's have one more round" her father said calmly. Alanta nodded and the two set to another fight.

**5 hours before the reaping, abandoned warehouse next to the weapons factory**

"Wicked party Feb!"

February grinned widely and chuckled at the compliment. He loved hearing that. If there February loved, it was the attention. That's why he had set up this pre-reaping party for all the twelve year olds to celebrate their first reaping. This way he could further his popularity status. Not that he wasn't already well known. He definitely was. If you said the name February Parrish Fay, you'd say 'oh, you mean the prankster'. Oh yes, this twelve year boy was the district clown. You wouldn't think so at first glance. He generally looked like an innocent young boy. He had quite pale skin, will a pair of two cute pink eyes and a head of fluffy, snowy white hair (yes, he's an albino). However, under all that he was quite a nightmare for the adults of the district. He, along with his friends Lauri, Harlequin and Farris caused so many pranks. Some of these include the frog swarm in the weapons factory, pretending Farris was dead and pretending he they all had the 'deadly' and 'contagious' Panem Flu.

Today though, he was just having a good time. February loved throwing parties, having fun and having a laugh. He had already told most of his party his best jokes and now he was bored.

"Hey Febby!" Harlequin called out. 'Febby' turned round but jumped slightly when he felt someone, namely Lauri jump on his back. He burst of laughing and hugged all three of them.

"Hey hey! Enjoying the party?" he asked through his laughing. They all grinned and nodded.

"Of course!" Farris said in her cute little voice. February loved her voice. He giggled quietly.

"Yeah I'm loving it too! But I'm not looking forward to later, I mean the reaping is probably going to be real depressing" Lauri moaned. Harlequin gave him a whack round the head.

"Aww shut it! You're ruining the party!"

"Settle down guys" the white haired boy ushered them "besides, I've got the ultimate prank planned for later anyway so it's not gonna be depressing"

The rest of them grinned and then all four of them started laughing loudly.

Yeah, it certainly wasn't going to be depressing for them.

**The Reaping**

Alanta entered the area with full confidence. In the end, the training didn't last much longer. After all, she still had to get ready for the reaping. Because it was her last reaping, her mother had given her one of her own old dresses to wear. Alanta felt quite honoured to wear it. It was a faded red and knee length. Alanta was also wearing her hair down now, so it hung neatly over the straps. She smiled over at her brother Luke next to her.

"Okay Luke, you need to go find your place" she said in a calm voice. Luke nodded and wandered off as she found a place to stand herself.

Meanwhile, February had arrived with his four friends. All of them were chatting and laughing loudly about something. The young boys (and Farris!) were dressed more elegantly this time. February in particular was dressed in a dull blue jacket with matching trousers. Underneath the jacket was a plain white shirt. February and the boys waved goodbye to Farris as she joined the girls section, whilst the boys went to stand with the others.

All talking ceased once the escort arrived. This escort was a female. Like all capitol people, she was dressed rather oddly. Her dress was very wide around the hip area and had a lot of black lace trimming along the bottom and top rims. The material was of black and yellow stripes. Her skin colour seemed to be of a pale yellow, and two bee like antennae seemed to be surgically implanted into her head.

"Good day to you ladies and gentlemen! I am your escort Honey Beeten, and will be selecting the lucky boy and girl who will be participating in the 66th annual hunger games" the woman rang out in quite a high pitched, sing song voice.

Alanta rolled her eyes; this woman's voice was annoying. February and his friends giggled; this woman's voice was funny. They continued laughing throughout the film and presentation as well. The peacekeepers gave them all warning looks. Farris giggled too. Alanta looked at her.

'What the hell are they laughing about?'

As soon as the film ended, Honey stepped to the microphone but before she could speak, she was met with about 20 litres of-ironically-sticky honey bucketing down on her. February, his boys and Farris burst out laughing immediately. A lot of other people were in stitched too, apart from Honey who looked very much irritated.

"Let's just get on with the name picking" she scowled. Honey wiped her hand on her extravagant dress, and then reached over towards the girl's glass bowl.

'This is my chance' Alanta thought immediately.

"I volunteer!" she shouted. Honey stopped.

"What was that? A volunteer? Well whoever it is, come up here young lady"

Alanta breathed out a kept a calm composure as she walked up towards the stage. She was not regretful; in fact she was happy she had done that. Mostly, she was proud.

"Well then young lady, what's your name?" Honey asked sweetly.

"Alanta Haines"

February sniggered again. Alanta shot him a dark look.

'If he's picked, he is dead first'

"Very well, seems we have our female tribute, now for the boys!"

Honey reached for the other glass bowl this time and pulled out a name. Everyone held their breath.

"…February Parrish Fay!"

February started laughing again, really loudly. The albino boy grinned, still laughing and ran up to the stage, waving at all the people in the district as he did so.

"Thank you, thank you! Guess it looks like I won't be at the after-reaping party!"

His friends all cheered for him.

"Very well, it looks like we now have our tributes! Alanta Haines and February Parrish Fay! Now shake hands!"

February turned to Alanta and offered a friendly hand. Alanta took it but jolted back when she did. She looked at him with irritation as she noticed the joy buzzer on February's hand. The white haired boy laughed again.

'Oh yes, he is definitely dead'


	3. The District 5 Reaping

**So here's the first reaping for district 5!**

**2 hours before the reaping, a small bench outside the power plant**

Natasha was sat alone again, expressionless. She wasn't in the best of moods right now. Once again, thanks to her sneakiness she had caught her mother with yet another man that wasn't her father. But she really didn't want to face it then and there so she decided to sneak away. That way she wouldn't have to wear that mask she always wore. That plain, emotionless mask. Unfortunately, none of her siblings were around so she went to the only place she could think of for now. That was her father's workplace. She didn't care much for her father either. Like her mother was a sex addict, he was a drug addict. It all added up to a rather poor home really. Natasha had learned years ago that it was pointless trying to change or fight any of it. Instead, she created a mask to hide herself behind when it all got bad, though she never would forget the bad things. She was certainly the type to hold on to it.

Natasha sat up a let out a deep sigh. She moved up her hand to fiddle with a part of her long, curly red locks of hair. She was quite a pretty girl really. She stood at a tall height of 6ft and was rather slim too. Her skin was a light tan and her young face held two shining blue eyes. Natasha moved from her hair to her necklace. It was a pretty necklace. All attraction was brought to the gleaming silver skill resting right below her collarbone. It was present Natasha had received years ago from her older brothers, a present from which she had always been grateful of. Natasha was suddenly brought out of her musings however as she felt a small tug on her leg. She looked down to see a smoky grey coloured cat. The feline was scratching lightly at the hem of her dress. With a smile, she lent down, picked it up and gave it a scratch on its belly. It was nice to let out her playful side once in a while. After a minute or so the cat leapt off Natasha's lap and, to her surprise, joined with another cat. She smiled playfully for a second before noticing the two had started fighting. As one cat swatted the other over the back of its head Natasha got a sudden shock of remembrance.

Of course…today was the reaping.

She had gone through this four times now but even so she still feared the event. Luckily for her, she never had to experience one of her many siblings being picked, nor being picked herself though every year felt the same. She remembered how every year she would wind up whoever did get picked just by giving them a single look. She just had that kind of effect.

'Sigh…okay it's not going to be me, its not going to be me, its not going to be me' she repeated in her head 'I guess I could just always sneak away from the reaping…'

"Natasha? What are you doing here?"

The 16 year old looked up to see the all too familiar face of her elder sister Ginny.

"I was waiting for dad" was her simple reply. Ginny sighed.

"You really shouldn't sneak out of the house like that, I swear you're just too…sneaky"

Natasha shrugged and smiled.

"Anyway, let's get you home. Your brothers, sister's and I have quite a good surprise waiting!" Ginny said happily. Natasha nodded, got up and followed her sister.

'Any surprise would be good on a reaping day'.

**1 hour before the reaping, outside the reaping area**

Lathus was waiting quietly outside the reaping area, but he was starting to get impatient though it didn't show on his face. He just wanted to get this over and done with. The tension, the sadness, the heartbreak…well not that he cared much for the last two. All in all it was pretty emotional for most, but he honestly didn't care usually about anyone that was picked. So he just wanted to get this done and leave. The 16 year old male paced back and forth in front of the place. Several adults passed by and gave him some strange looks. In all honesty he did look a bit scruffy.

Lathus had medium length charcoal black hair with several bangs hanging in front of his scarlet eyes. Those eyes were always frightening. He was sort of tall, standing at 5ft 9 with a slim waist. He only wore a simple grey shirt and jeans with no shoes. Yes, that was very much his style. He didn't really own anything nicer, and he didn't have anywhere to get something nicer. Lathus didn't really have a family, well not one that he knows of. The only memories he had are of the capitol. Those weren't really the best memories either. They we scarred with dark old laboratories, trashed streets and blood. So much blood.

It probably wasn't the best time to be thinking about that though. Lathus turned around to look at the large clock behind him.

'Damn, still another 20 minutes' he thought angrily to himself. With irritation, he leant back against the wall and started waiting again.

**The Reaping**

Everyone young child from the age of 12 and 18 were gathered in a mass in front of the stage. The girls were stood to the left, the boys to the right. Natasha waved a brief goodbye to her brothers as she rushed to find a place to stand with her sisters. Her mood now was much better than earlier. It turns out her little surprise was even better than she expected. It seems her brothers and sisters had pooled their money together to buy her a beautiful new dress for the reaping. As her sister quoted:

"If you're going to walk to your death you might as well look pretty"

It sure was pretty. It was long and black with a lovely black bow on the shoulder. Even so, she was still worried.

'I could still sneak away, no-one would probably notice…' she thought to herself, scanning the crowd. She glanced over at the boy's section. Her brother had already settled into the crowd, but were stood next to someone…strange. He was probably the same age as herself but had this mysterious aura about him. The boy turned around and looked her straight in the eye, with a cold uncaring look. She shot him a sly look and smile before turning back to the stage where the escort had just arrived.

Like all capitol people, he was rather strange looking. He was a dark skinned man with thick black hair. His outfit was also black and covering his entire body, hands, feet and all. From the back of the outfit, four black appendages stuck out neatly. It didn't take Natasha a second to realise he was dressed as a spider. Lathus didn't look impressed and mumbled under his breath.

"Bloody capitol people"

Everyone went silent as the eccentrically dressed man wandered up to the microphone.

"Good afternoon!" He exclaimed in a posh but flamboyant tone "I am Rudeger Hayflick, and today I will be picking out two lucky young boys and girls to represent district 5 in the 66th annual hunger games. But first! I have brought a film directly from the capitol to be played to you all"

With that, the film started. It was a typical, patriotic kind of film, detailing the history of Panem and the hunger games. Everyone had seen these kind of films before so no-on paid much attention. Eventually the film ended and Rudeger went back to the mic.

"Well now, it's time to announce our tributes" he said with enthusiasm. He reached his hand into one of the large glass bowls to his side.

"Ladies first, and our tribute is…"  
Natasha held her breath.

"…Natasha Widow!"

Fred, Julian…those names immediately popped into her head.

"Fred! Julian" she unwilling called. Where were her brothers? She needed them!

"Marcaline!"

Maybe her sisters would help her.

"Ginny! Maria!"

No matter how many times she called their names it did nothing. They couldn't help her now. Natasha looked to the floor, then back up at their escort.

"Come on dear, don't be shy!"

Natasha breathed a sigh and accepted defeat. She shuffled her feet up onto the stage and stood beside the ridiculously dressed man. She could only wait now for the male tribute to be picked.

Lathus looked expressionless as he watched the girl go up on stage. One down, one more to go. Then he could leave.

"Okay now! It's time to announce our male tribute!" The man exclaimed again, reaching into the other glass bowl. Lathus followed his movement as the paper was unfolded and read out.

'Here we go'

"Lathus Thyth!"

Seriously? Him? This…was actually a good opportunity. Lathus kept a blank expression and went to join the girl on stage, but his thoughts all the while were of the capitol. How sweet it would be to go back. He already had his plans ready. Once he was on stage, the escort spoke again.

"There we have it! The tributes for district 5 this year are Natasha Widow and Lathus Thyth, now shake hands!"

Natasha stuck out her hand, but slowly. Lathus reluctantly took it and the two shook.

No words were exchanged between them. After all, their lives had just been changed for the worse in a few mere minutes.


	4. The District 6 Reaping

**6 hours before the reaping, main transport station**

Lana watched wistfully as each load was transported away, one by one down the deep, dark tunnels. She had watched them many times. Each time, she always was curious and got excited, wondering lightly what could be in those mysterious trucks. It was just her and her younger sister Crystal. The two were together on a nearby bench, sat in silence as each rusted truck roared past, drowning out the soft voices of the sisters when they wanted to speak. So instead, Crystal had just taken to clutching to Lana's arm. Not once did Lana shove her off; she simply smiled kindly. She had been visiting this place for many years, yet her looks hadn't changed. She still had her soft, hazel eyes and her short brown bobbed hairstyle, as well as her pure, pale skin. The only difference was that she had gotten stronger, physically and mentally. Her arms were now well muscled. Attitude wise, she had learnt to cope with life better, after what happened last year.

Lana hadn't always visited the station with Crystal. After all, she was only 9 years old. For many years, her older brother had brought her here. He always mentioned how he loved the place, despite the fact her never cared for transportation of any kind. Maybe it was just because he liked being with Lana. She would never know now. He could never visit here anymore. Not after last year. More precisely, a year ago today.

"Big sister?" Crystal asked innocently. Lana snapped out of her thoughts and looked to her.

"Yes? What wrong?"

"…Do you have to go today?"

Lana realised where this was going. She didn't really want to have this conversation. Especially because of what would happen. Crystal hadn't been to a reaping before; she didn't fully understand it. She couldn't comprehend why people who were picked didn't come back. Nonetheless, she had to reply.

"Yes I do"

"Are you going to disappear like big brother did?"

"…No, don't worry about that! I'll be back and playing with you again before you know it!" she replied in a cheery sing song voice.

Lana felt horrible for lying, but it was all she could do to protect Crystal's innocent young mind. She didn't say anything after that. Time flowed by them again, in a silent breeze following behind large metal trucks. It started getting late when Lana realised they had to go back so she could prepare for the reaping. Carefully, she nudged her sister (who awakened from a light nap) and pulled her away with her. As they walked off, hand in hand, Lana realised just how much she was going to miss that bench.

**1 hour before the reaping, an empty field**

Alone in the field, a young teenage boy sat and stared up at the clouds in deep thought. It seemed as though he was trying to focus his mind on something else. Several breezes blew by, rustling the black curls of hair atop his head. Underneath those black curls on his face were a pair of light brown eyes which stared aimlessly up at the sky. Despite being young, he had a sturdy, olive skinned body and a handsome face. Unfortunately, there was no princely smile on his face, but a frown of concern. The boy furrowed his brow as though he was trying to block out some thoughts, although he failed.

'_You're so pathetic Jonathon'_ a voice rang out in his head.

"Shut up"

'_What are you doing here? You should be dead, you stupid boy' _it hissed again.

"I said SHUT UP" Jonathon yelled out in the open. Thankfully, no-one was nearby. Jonathon despised the voices. The mocking, frightening, evil voices. They had only started to torture him about a month ago but they had already taken him over. Like the flames in that deadly fire, they too burned the deep dark areas of his mind, piercing them with the screams of his uncle and all those other hundreds that were killed.

"_It's all your fault…" _it whispered, scarily like his uncle sounded_._

The voices always darkened his mood. It made him a dark, cold, mean person around everyone else. Only when he was alone could he really let it out.

He never used to be like this. Before all that, he was a funny, kind and enthusiastic boy, but as soon as the voices arrived they wouldn't allow it.

"_You stupid boy, hiding like a coward, hiding from fate…" _they whispered cruelly again. He knew what they were referring to. It was the reaping today, and it started in only an hour's time, yet he was all the way out here. It was definitely at least an hour's walk away. Maybe the voice was right, he is a coward…

Wait. He didn't have to listen to that voice. Jonathon got himself up from the ground. He guessed it was about time he should go.

**The Reaping**

Lana smiled as she realised where the reaping was being held this year. A stage had been set up at the station which pleased her very much. If only Crystal could see this…wait she didn't want that. Lana had already said her goodbyes to Crystal. Bless her little heart, the girl cried a few tears and wouldn't let go. If only her brother could see this now though. Such a shame. Her reaping outfit was rather simple; just a black top, jeans and shoes, along with a beautiful gold raven token which hung neatly around her neck. A typical outfit for Lana. A she went to find her place, she passed by a younger boy who seemed to be muttering something along the lines of 'be quiet!'. Lana gave him a cute smile and nod; however the boy shot her a dark look so she left him to it.

Jonathon looked back at the girl who had smiled at him and cursed under his breath. He didn't want to attract any attention to himself right now. His reaping outfit was also rather simple, consisting of a black shirt and cream coloured trousers.

"_Pathetic…"_

"Stop it!" he muttered again, but a little more loudly this time. Several other boys gave him a strange looked, so he just hung his head and rushed off to find the space.

The escort had already arrived as he was still searching for a free space. She looked more elegant than many capitol people, even though she was dressed to match the district. The woman's dress consisted of several plates of bronze, silver and gold with an iron grill acting like a corset, making it to look like a train. It was quite funny watching her struggle to reach the microphone.

"Eh hem good day ladies and gentleman. It is an honour for me, Irona King, to be here to pick out the two tributes that will represent district 6 in the 66th annual hunger games!" She announced in a voice that seemed quite low for a woman. She said no more after, following her opening statement with a film and presentation. She took a moment before speaking once the film finished, struggling to get over to the glass bowls in her dress.

"Now it is time to pick our tributes! As always, ladies first!"

Lana clutched the raven at her chest,

"I volunteer as tribute!"

In unison, the whole audience gasped. It was very unusual for someone to volunteer in this district, but no-one stopped her. Lana looked around her and took a deep breath. It was all so sudden for her but she had planned this, so she moved herself and walked up to the stage smiling kindly to all those around her. The escort stumbled over to Lana and shook her hand.

"Okay, wonderful! What is your name then?"

"Lana Valintina" she said cheerily.

"_That should have been you…"_

"Shut up" Jonathon mumbled, whilst the escort was talking. Several people looked at him again but they shot him dark looks. But they wouldn't stop looking. Then he realised he hadn't been listening to the escort. The metal clad woman had a piece of paper in her hand and was looking around.

"Jonathon? Jonathon Aristo Morden? Are you there boy?" She called out.

"_Maybe now you'll finally die you pathetic-"_

Jonathon didn't hear the rest of what the voice said. Instead, he snapped and ran. He ran fast, tearing through the crows to the exit with all the power he could muster. Unfortunately for him, the peacekeepers were just a little faster. One grabbed him forcefully by the arm and dragged him back to the stage. Despite all the interruptions, Iron carried on as normal.

"Well then, here are our tributes for this year! Lana Valintina and Jonathon Aristo Morden! Now the two of you shake hands!"

Jonathon turned to Lana and reluctantly took her hand. Lana noticed his mood and tried to offer a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry" it'll all be okay" she said in a friendly tone.

The dark haired boy huffed.

"I doubt it"


	5. The District 9 Reaping

**6 hours before the reaping, a grain field**

Damn them. Damn all of them.

Elysia cursed, dripping wet and sat herself among the grain, hiding in the thick tall plants away from anyone's sight. She wrapped her arms around her legs and pulled them close towards her chest. Her knees clinked against the small jade stone that hunger below her neck. For a few moments, Elysia embraced the silence. A gentle breeze wrapped itself through her ginger locks and touched her face ever so lightly. She was now certainly calm. She opened her jade green eyes to stare out into the field.

'I wonder if anyone will come looking for me?' she wondered wistfully to herself.

Not likely. She was generally never remembered. Standing at about average height with average weight, she looked like a cute girl, with her curly waist length ginger locks, limpid jade pools for eyes, pale skin with a few flickering freckles across her cheeks.

Cute, but unnoticed. She hated it. She hated deeply how no-one seemed to care about her successes, her failures and her deep interest and loves. It hurt when she would shout out a name or nice comment yet no head would turn. Even when she did catch someone's attention, it wasn't for a good reason. She unfortunately had a stubborn nature which caused a lot of social awkwardness. Unfortunately, this got her picked on quite a bit. Especially today; some kids thought it would be funny to chuck a bucket of water at her. She wanted to yell at them, she wanted to give them hell but she could only cry.

That was another thing she hated, no matter how hard she tried to be strong she really wasn't. Thankfully, some boy had seen the scene and knocked the boys out, but she snuck away before he could offer her a towel.

A tear slid down Elysia's cheek.

'Why? Why am I such a coward? I don't want to cry, I can't cry…'

Several more tears poured down, resulting in a waterfall. To make matters worse, it just so happened to be the reaping today. If there was one thing Elysia hated more than being forgotten, it was the hunger games. It was a brutish, fearful game where every year young children are slaughtered for the sake of entertainment. Secretly, she was just jealous. The tributes that were picked each year got so much attention. They got to be on TV, interviewed and shown off to the world. How she longed for such attention.

Another tear rolled down her cheek.

Something rustles.

"Who's there?"

"Need a tissue?"

Elysia looked up to see the young boy from earlier standing there with a towel, not a tissue (she didn't have the heart to point it out).

"Yeah…thanks" she mumbled, taking the towel and dabbing at her eyes. The boy smiled.

"Okay then, the name's Rye by the way" he said, offering her a hand, which she gladly took.

"…I'm Elysia"

Looks like someone did care after all.

**7 hours before the reaping, street outside grain factory**

Rye huffed as he lugged another bag of grain onto his shoulder. He didn't understand why he'd have to work on a day like this but he didn't argue with his boss. As his grandfather used to say:

'The fight avoided is the easiest won'

So here he was, lugging heavy bags of grain down the street to the nearby factory. Thankfully, his good friend Alex was with him; she had, for some reason, decided to tag along. He couldn't understand why. The sun was beating down hard on the backs of the two young adults, sweat pouring down the neck the tanned skin of his neck. In some ways, Rye was quite a handsome young man (despite the wide nose, thick neck and square jaw), with light brown eyes and dirty blonde hair that had been buzzed short. He stood at a height of 6 and a weight of 218 lbs with broad shoulders and a muscular build thanks to the amount of physical labour he had undergone. However, underneath his tough exterior, he was actually a rather quiet, kind man with a strong sense of justice.

"Are you sure you don't need any help with that?" Alex asked her friend.

"Nope" was his simple reply. It was true that Rye had quite a limited vocabulary, but because of that he was always considered 'dumb'. That wasn't true, in fact it was far from it. Though he wasn't particularly great at maths or spelling (he even dropped out of school because of it), but he was very resourceful and observant. In fact his observance came into use now.

As he and Alex approached the factory, they saw another girl about their age. She stood there innocently, looking like she was waiting for something. That's when, out of nowhere, a bucket was launched at the girl, drenching her in a mini tidal wave of cold water.

"Oh my!" Alex shouted.

"Poor girl…" Rye commented. He scanned the area and noticed as three boys walked into the scene, laughing their guts out at the drenched girl.

"Man I can't believe she didn't see that coming!"

"What you gonna do little girl? Go crying to your mummy? She won't see any tears under all that water"

The third one went over the grab the girl by her ginger hair, but was cut off as a grain bag whacked him unconscious. The other two turned to see a fuming Rye.

"Rye…" Alex said warily.

"I'm not going to let them hurt her like that" he said quietly, then cracked his knuckles. Looks like he was going to enforce his grandfather's other saying:

'A punch to the throat wins a fight pretty easily as well'

Several punches and three unconscious boys later, Alex decided to speak up.

"That girl is gone Rye" she noted. He looked at her.

"And…"

"And you really should go and find her, just to make sure she's okay" she ordered him.

Rye took no hesitation and wandered off at once. He guessed work could wait for now.

**The Reaping**

Elysia paused before entering the stage area for the reaping. After the unprovoked assault from earlier, she felt rather nervous about going back near anyone. Though it probably wouldn't matter anyway, no-one would notice her, not even in her new reaping outfit. She normally didn't like dresses but she'd made an exception today. She was wearing a gorgeous orange dress which matched her radiant hair. Elysia breathed out a depressing sigh.

Then she saw the boy from earlier. Rye walked in, dressed in a t-shirt, hat and overalls (as he'd planned to help his grandfather plant trees after the reaping assuming he wouldn't get picked). He looked in Elysia's direction and gave her a quiet nod. She suddenly lit up and smiled. However, her smile soon faded as another girl pulled up next to Rye and started talking to him. She went back to lowering her head and keeping out of the way.

Once everyone had settled into the crowds, the escort walked up to the stage. This escort happened to be a man. His outfit was quite natural, yet ridiculous at the same time. To match the district, the escort's outfit consisted of many large pieces of wheat, all sticking in a brown belt on his middle, making him look like a large sheaf of wheat. No-one looked impressed.

"Good afternoon district 9, I am Sheaf Wheaton" He announced. His accent was strange; a mix between different old European accents. The rest of his speech continued very much the same as usual, with the film and such.

Elysia paid no attention to any of it. Not until she heard the first name.

"Elysia Jade"

No movement. Elysia couldn't feel anything. It was like a bolt of energy had shot straight through and paralysed her. Complete shock.

No around Elysia moved. No-one knew who she was anyway. Except Rye, who was looking around and trying to find her. Then she did something so that everyone would know who she was.

She ran. She kicked, punched, shoved and ran. She didn't run very far. She only managed to get just outside the gate when the peacekeepers forcefully grabbed her and pulled her kicking and screaming to the stage.

"NO NO I DON'T WANT TO GO!" She screamed. Sheaf looked awkwardly as she was dragged to him. The peacekeepers remained on stage to ensure she wouldn't run off again.

"Ah hem, well then I guess it is time to pick out our male tribute" he announced.

'Great, then I can go back and plant trees' Rye thought.

"Rye Wulf"

Or not.

It wasn't fair. Rye seethed and hissed through his teeth.

Why? Why did his grandfather have to go through this again.

He was angry. So very angry, yet he kept his composure and walked up to the stage. Elysia watched him sadly as he sauntered up. She could see the anger in his eyes. Poor thing.

"Well there we have it, our tributes for this year are Elysia Jade" he looked at her warily "and Rye Wulf, now shake hands!"

Rye looked at Elysia. He couldn't believe it, that same girl from before.

She couldn't believe it, that same boy from before.

As they both shook hands they had the same thought.

'At least it was them'


	6. The District 3 Reaping

**Finally, I've waited so long but I've eventually been able to put up a new chapter! Thanks to everyone for being patient, I hope I will be more successful this time round! So here, enjoy the reaping for district 3!**

**Big Note: The idea for the escort in this chapter was kindly thought of and donated to me by the wonderful ladyyuuki16, so thank you!**

**2 Hours before the reaping, outside an electronics factory**

Brooklyn and her friends erupted into laughter at yet another one of Brooklyn's jokes. Her friend Colton even laughed so hard he fell off the bench, which caused even more giggles. After the laughter died down, Brooklyn spoke up.

"Hey guys, can I show you another one of my new tricks?" she announced. The other's nodded eagerly. Taking in the nods of approval, she balanced herself carefully on the top part of the bench, first of all in a handstand. She then bent her legs ever so carefully as to create a crescent moon shape, and then lifted one hand so she was balancing on one arm only. Both Dawna and Colton clapped and cheered at their friend's latest feat. It may have looked dangerous but they both knew that Brook was daring and not to mention brave. She would always take the risk. Brooklyn jumped down from the bench smoothly and stood tall.

It was easily shown that she was an agile girl; thin, short and lightweight. It's true, her body was quite weak but inside she was a strong. Her skin was lightly tanned, with two eyes of ice blue on her face. Reaching down to her waist, she had lovely long wavy blonde hair with hints of brown. Brooklyn stretched a bit and breathed out a happy sigh. Somehow, even on a day like this she was able to keep herself in a good mood. Sure, she was a little frightened of the reapings today. She did take it seriously when she was at them but outside of the reapings, she just wanted to live her life to its fullest.

"Doing stupid stunts again, are we?" Someone rudely commented from behind them. The three of them stopped laughing and turned round to see a familiar female face.

"Oh…it's you Ren" Brooklyn said grimly. True enough, behind them was their old friend Serenity, with one of her high and mighty looks on her face. She used to be their friend at least, until she won the hunger games and changed.

"Well then, I see you're playing outside your parent's lame factory again" she said, smirking. Brooklyn's face became more serious.

"That's enough Ren. Owning a factory is a pretty big achievement I'd say! Dawna spoke up.

"Dawna…" Brooklyn sighed.

"Whatever, that's not a great achievement. Do you know what is? Winning the hunger games, something you'll never be capable of" Serenity said, laughing cruelly. Brooklyn growled but thought clearly and calmed herself down.

"I'll have you know…we have just a great a chance of winning as you ever did!" she proudly announced "and if I'm reaped I'll show you by winning!"

Serenity huffed and turned away.

"Whatever" she muttered before walking away.

Brooklyn breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to her friends.

"Uh…did they just hear all that?" Colton asked, pointing out the small group of people who had just arrived outside the factory. Brooklyn was drawn to one in particular; a boy with spiked brown hair and eyes that held a glimmer of intelligence in them

"I think I've seen him before" Dawna pipe in "I think it was something like Denny, Dennel, Dennis…no wait Denver"

'Denver huh? Well, if he did see that then I don't care. Now he knows not to mess with me'

**2 hours before the reaping, streets of district 3**

Denver wasn't really supposed to go out today but thanks to his sister he had pretty much been forced to. May was currently holding his hand tightly and smiling away innocently. A couple of friends around him snickered but he just waved them off. A little while earlier they had all knocked at his door. He was going to say no but then May happened to come to the door as well, begging Denver to go outside. So there he was now, on the streets, heading nowhere as he listened and joked with his friends.

Denver had quite average looks according to his friends. He stood tall at a height of 6ft, broad shoulder but with average weight and muscles and lightly tanned skin. He always kept his dark brown hair spiked up and out of the way of his light green eyes. Apart from average looks, he had also had a pretty much average life. His parents spent most of their time working so he generally spent most of his time taking care of May at home. Overall, aside from a few failed pranks, nothing of major interest had happened.

Maybe today something interesting would happen. After all, today was the reaping. For four years beforehand, Denver had avoided being reaped and so had his friends. Not that it was a bad thing at all. If he had been reaped, May and his parents certainly would have been devastated.

"Hey big brother? What's going on over there?" May asked sweetly. Denver looked up. He didn't recognise the people over there but he could make out some of their conversation.

"…And if I'm reaped I'll show you by winning!" One of the girls shouted loud enough.

"Just a little squabble May" he explained. He looked back at them. The girl who had shouted earlier was now staring straight at him. He shuffled uncomfortably. The girl shouted something to him but he didn't reply. Instead, he tugged on May and they walked off.

"Wasn't that a bit rude?" May asked.

"I've told you about stranger danger before May. I didn't know that girl May" he explained.

"Denver…"

"Yes?"

"Do you have to go today?"

Denver sighed.

"Yes, but I promise I'll be back"

He only wished he would be able to keep that promise.

**The Reaping**

The stage for the reaping this year was rather technical. It was being held at an old technology factory which had been built up just for the reaping. There were blinking LED's and neon lights in several places, causing many people to cover their eyes as they entered.

Brooklyn was one of them to shield her eyes for a moment as she entered with her two sisters, Rae (who was older) and Liliana (who was younger).

'Jeez, are they trying to blind us before the games'

The lights did highlight her outfit. It was simple but pretty; a light blue shirt with a pure white skirt. She recognised some of the electronics in the area, recognising some of the ones that came from her parent's factory. She also happened to notice Dawna over in the girl's section and went up to join her. The two girls smiled at each other, then scanned the boy's section for Colton. They picked him out eventually, and Brooklyn also happened to pick out the quiet boy from earlier.

Denver looked over at the girl staring at him, recognising her to be the loud girl from earlier. He shuffled uncomfortably again an started at the floor. He was keeping silent; he didn't like being with a bunch of strangers. Since May was too young to attend and his friends had set of off earlier than him, Denver had come alone. He was currently dressed in a white shirt underneath a black waistcoat, with matching black trousers and shoes. He looked quite formal. Denver diverted his attention from the floor to the stage when the escort finally arrived.

Unlike some of the escorts that district 3 previously had, this year they had quite an elegant looking woman. She was dressed in a knee length pink dress that matched her straight pink hair which was held in a ponytail. Around her neck was a shining butterfly necklace and on her feet were a bright red pair of high heels. As the woman gracefully stepped up to the microphone, everyone paid full attention.

"Good day district 3!" She began in a smooth, silky voice "I am your escort for this year, Sakura Dragomir. Today, I will be choosing our lucky young boy and girl who will represent district 3 in the 66th annual hunger games! But first of all I have a film for you which I have brought straight from the capitol!"

Not many people spent much time watching the film, but rather more on their escort's radiant looks. When it finished, they all eagerly waited for the woman to speak again.

"Alright then, I will now choose our lucky young girl!"

Brooklyn held her breath as Sakura reached deep down into the glass bowl.

"Our female tribute is…Brooklyn Hart!"

She froze. A wave of complete fear and horror washed through Brooklyn like painful poison. She couldn't believe it was her, she couldn't…then she saw Serenity, with that smug look on her face. It was Brooklyn paused for a minute. No, it wasn't hopeless. She remembered, she did have a chance. Even if it was small, she did have a chance of winning. Sucking in her breath, Brooklyn made her way up to the stage, standing next to the graceful Sakura.

Denver noticed a couple of tears sliding down from the girl's cheeks. She was acting different from before. He forgot about that though as the escort spoke again.

"And now for our male tribute!" she spoke excitedly. She placed a slender into the boy's glass bowl and fished out a name. Denver sighed.

'Always the same'

"Our male tribute this year is…Denver Grate"

Denver paused. Looks like something would happen in his life, but why did it have to be this. It was scary, but he took in a deep breath, put on a brave face and walked up to the stage. At least the escort wasn't intimidating. Sakura looked at the tributes with a smile, then turned back to the audience.

"Well then, here are our tributes for this year, Brooklyn Hart and Denver Grate. Now shake hands and we will be on our way!"

Brooklyn and Denver turned and shook hands. As they did, they couldn't help but notice the necklaces on each other's necks. Not just pieces of jewellery, but their last memories of home.


	7. The District 4 Reaping

**Alrighty, next chapter! Quick note, after the reaping chapters I will be setting out the sponsor system so you might want to think about who your favourite tributes are now! For now, here's district 4!**

**(also sorry about taking so long, I have a lot of stuff on my schedule so I apologize if I'm late with other chapters) **

**The escort by the way is yet another wonderful creation from ladyyuuki16!**

**1 hour before the reaping, the Honay household**

The noise and the chatter at the dinner table was nearly unbearable. Raye sat among the noise between two of her siblings. Any comments she made were completely drowned out among the constant chatter. So instead, she just sat there, unnoticed as usual. This level of uproar was not unusual though. Aside from Raye, she had four sisters and two brothers. One of her brothers sat at the end of the table, free from being squashed among his siblings. There was a reason as to why he received this treatment. After all, he was a previous winner, but Raye always acted so callous about it. She always thought, in her head, that she could do the same.

'He isn't so great, with my intelligence I could easily win' she thought to herself as she forked down another mouthful of fish. Many people misunderstood Raye though when she thought like that. Yes, she was intelligent and a strong person deep down though she seemed to flaunt that around. Looks wise, she was quite pretty. Her hair was rather short and straight, and coloured a cute mousy brown. Her eyes were two orbs of hazel. She was quite a tall woman, but had an average build with pale skin. The most distinctive thing about her was probably the scar across her face. She raised a pale hand to touch it.

"Looking at your scar again sis?" her brother said, followed up by a smirk. She glared at him.

"Shut up"

"Well that's what you get for losing a fight, better keep that in mind" he said, almost warning her. It didn't take Raye a second to figure out what he meant. She suddenly remembered what day it was today: The reaping day. However, if she lost the games she would earn more than just a scar.

"Hurry up Raye!" her mother growled. The 13 year old girl sighed and put down her fork and sighed.

"Yes mother" she grumbled. Unfortunately for her, Raye's parents happened to be peacekeepers, which meant they had to drag Raye to the games early. Thankfully she had dressed in her outfit earlier, because she was now being pulled out of the house in a rush towards the reaping stage.

Eventually her parents let go and allowed her to walk at her own pace. As they slowly got further away, she slowed down herself to a regular pace, finding herself passing by one of the coastal areas. She was enjoying her peaceful walk, until she found and hand on her shoulder. She whipped round and glared at her assailant. She was me with a pair of captivating brown eyes of an older man.

"Hey there good looking, you should be careful you don't ruin that pretty dress of yours" he said smoothly, smiling at her. She shifted so his hand wasn't on her shoulder anymore. She wanted to just walk away but she kind of liked being noticed. "Listen here Romeo, I'm late for something…"

"The reaping? Well, I am too. Would you like me to walk you there beautiful?" he asked her sweetly. She paused, unable to think of an answer at first.

"I don't need an escort" she said, giving herself a high and mighty aura. He still smirked

"What if I was to head off at the same time as you?" he asked. She realised she couldn't win with this guy.

"Fine…but keep your distance"

**1 hour before the reaping, a coastal area**

Popular, handsome and the perfect friend. That certainly described Pierce right down to the bone. He was out with his friends now at the beach, a popular place for anyone to be in district 4. Surrounded by his many friends, Pierce was content.

He was currently lying down on the smooth, golden sand which matched his golden tanned skin which was exposed to the sun. He was a tall man and very muscular; he even had a six pack (which many of the girls admired). His light brown hair was messed up, hanging over his twinkling brown eyes which held a sexy glint. In a nutshell, his looks added up to one word: Sexy!

Sexy, and he knew it.

He breathed out a relaxed sigh. It was good to have some peace. It was good to get away from home, away from his bitchy mother and sister who constantly would nag at him or find something else to bother him with. However, he was forgiving to most people and his family were included in that treatment.

"Hey, who's the good lookin' girl over there?" he heard one of his friends shout rather loudly. He flipped round and propped himself up with one arm to see what the commotion was about.

There she was, a cute young girls walking alone by the beach to somewhere.

'What's a girl like her doing along?' he thought to himself. With no struggle, Pierce leapt to his feet and casually, with his usual sexy stride, made his way over to the girl and placed a hand on her shoulder. She didn't look too pleased to see him so he put on his most charming face.

"Hey there good looking, you should be careful you don't ruin that pretty dress of yours" he said smoothly with a smile. The girl seemed to shift uncomfortably.

"Listen here Romeo, I'm late for something…" she said in an annoyed time

"The reaping? Well, I am too. Would you like me to walk you there beautiful?" Pierce asked her sweetly. He was able to twig right away what was going on now. Well, it's no fun going to the reaping alone.

"I don't need an escort" the girl replied, which came off as arrogant.

"What if I was to head off at the same time as you?" he asked.

"Fine…but keep your distance" she replied, apparently giving up. She smiled and escorted her towards the stage area, whilst the girls behind him mumbled angrily because it wasn't them.

**The Reaping**

Raye and Pierce had arrived quite early together to the reaping area, which unsurprisingly had been set up in an old fishing port. The stage had been done up with beautifully woven nets and other marine decorations, giving a very 'under the sea' feel. Raye had looked around the place a few times, noticing how the ocean blue colours were very calming. She looked down at her dress, which seemed rather plain in comparison, but still very pretty. It was a short green dress with a matching green headband. She adjusted the green headband awkwardly, then peered over to see what her 'escort' was wearing.

Pierce was currently wearing a black tank top that showed a lot of his muscle, which she had to admit were good, as well as a pair of rather tight black pants that gave the ladies quite a view. The golden tanned man was grinning at some of the girls around, who were swooning at making suggestive faces at him. He was forced to stop flirting though as the escort arrived.

The escort surprisingly looked quite normal, but certainly very flashy, with shirt spiky black hair and a ravishing black suit complete with a white dress shirt, black pants, shoes and a black snake locket hanging around his neck. He stepped up to the microphone, cleared his throat and began.

"All right minnows, I'm your escort this year. The name's Tony Stark, and yes I'm not your usual big headed-literally-fancy schmancy pompous guy you usually get. Have to say by the way guys, love the fish you guys send up there. Anyway's I have a film for you" he said cheerily. Some people giggled at his description of the capitol people, including Raye and Pierce. After it ended, Tony wasted now time in bringing out the glass bowls.

"Alrighty, let's get on with choosing our tributes" he announced. He stuck his hand quickly into the bowl and fished out a name, but before he could read it out:

"I volunteer!" Raye shouted.

"What? A volunteer? Come up here then girl"

Raye took a deep breath and made her way up with full confidence. There was no way should regret this decision; she could now show her family she wasn't useless. She stood proud up on stage.

"So what's your name?" he asked her, holding the mic up.

"Raye Honay" she announced. Pierce was surprised to see it was the girl he escorted here. Nonetheless, he waited for the boy's name to be announced. Once again, Tony fished out a name.

"Pierce Waters" It was him. He didn't think for a second. Then he realised he should be going up on stage. Bravely, he put on a poker face and made his way up. Some of the girls whistled and cheered for him. He grinned back at them. One or two even fainted. Tony waited until he was up on stage then immediately finished of the reaping.

"There we have, our tributes this year-Raye Honay and Pierce Waters, now shake hands and let's get outta here"

Pierce smiled at Raye who took his hand and shook it without a word.

"Looks like I'll be 'escorting' you again" he said lightly.

"Great"


	8. The District 7 Reaping

**I'm finally back! Can I apologise dearly for the long wait, I know you've all had to wait so long. I will say I've had trouble with schoolwork and emotional problems which have made it difficult to write but in future I will learn to persevere with my writing. After all, starting my new course in literature has resparked my passion for writing! So after all this time I can only hope you'll forgive me and enjoy the new chapter!**

**Also, thanks to NOONi's Moon for reminding me! And once again the escort comes from the helpful Ladyyuuki16**

**2 hours before the reaping, the North household**

All was quiet in the North household. Linnet sat on the living room couch, alone. Both her Aunt Haze and Uncle Fitch were still out, working out in the forests. They wouldn't be coming back anytime soon either. So she was alone, with no-one to talk to on this dark day. It's not like she was the most social person either. As quoted by a lot of people she 'doesn't play well with others'. She wasn't even considered as pretty as other girls either. Locks of dark brown hair hung at her shoulders, matching her eyes. She was rather short for age and thin with olive skin. However, she never relied on her looks. Instead, she was gifted with intelligence. No matter the situation or problem, somehow Linnet was always able to analyse and calculate a solution to it. Not only that but she could think on her feet, which helped her to get out of many sticky situations. Except that one incident with the peacekeeper…

Linnet shuddered. No, she shouldn't be thinking of that right now. Instead, she should be focusing on the games. It's not like she wanted to be doing this, but she might as well start to develop her tactics now. Several pieces of paper were strewn out on her lap, with different scrawls on each one. Some of the papers read '50th hunger games', 'previous winners' and 'loser's mistakes'. If she was going to win, she wanted to make sure she had nothing faulting her.

She looked at the papers again. They were disorganised about her lap, falling to the floor, despite her trying to keep them under her control.

Control…

She hissed and piled the papers neatly on her lap again. She kept telling herself she did have control. She did…

BANG!

Linnet whipped round as she heard something smash into the walls of her house. She thought fast and grabbed the nearest weapon possible-The broom behind the chair. Slowly, she paced towards the door. She then creaked it open to see what had caused the mysterious noise. She was particularly irritated to see an axe lodged in the side of the house. She also happened to notice a young boy about her age shouting out to several others who were running away. The boy slowly turned round the meet her piercing gaze.

"…Oh man I am so sorry about that! It was my friend's fault!" The boy spurted out. He rubbed the back of his head, grinned sheepishly then offered her his hand.

"Guess we got off on the wrong foot, I'm Cial, what's your name?" he asked in a light friendly tone.

Linnet stared at his hand blankly.

"None of your business, now get out before I lodge that axe in your back" she hissed, before shutting the door on the boy's surprised face.

**2 hours 30 minutes before the reaping, forest area of district 7**

Cial laughed again at his friend's lame jokes. After calming down a little, he leaned back into smooth bark of the great oak tree. He and his friends had decided to gather in the forest today; it was the only fun they really got in this poor area. Especially considering how his father didn't get paid much in his job.

Cial sat up.

He thought about his father again. He always felt sorry his father, working so hard to provide for two families. In some ways, Cial was quite like his father. Short locks of brown hair rested on his head, out of the way of his blue eyes. He was certainly reaching his father's tall height, as well as the muscle and tan of his skin. What he didn't have though was that strength. Sure, he tried to be strong for his Callie and Dean, but that was only since Molly had gone.

Cial froze.

The reality of today suddenly came flooding back. The reason why they'd come out here to relax in the first place. Cial didn't want to have to go through the reaping again. Though, before his thoughts could get any deeper he was loudly interrupted by one of his friends.

"Hey! Look what I found" the other boy yelled. Cial yawned and glanced over, to notice he was gripping medium sized wood chopping axe.

"Where did you get that from?" he asked with a small laugh.

"Eh, just found it lying by a tree"

Everyone looked at him awkwardly.

"Um…are you sure that didn't belong to someone?" Cial asked nervously.

"Oi! What are you kids doing with that?" Someone yelled from a distance. In an instant the small group of young teens ran off in panicked rush. As they ran, Cial happened to notice the boy with the axe was still holding said weapon.

"What are you doing? Get rid of it!" Cial shouted in his face. The other boy nodded, then flung the axe to his side and, unfortunately, it lodged itself in the wall of a nearby house. Cial screeched to a halt to look at the extent of the damage.

"Oh dear…"

As he examined the damage, he heard the click of a door. He turned to see a girl about his age glaring right at him, wielding a broom. He looked at her, then the axe, then at her again. He then glanced back to his friends, but cursed mentally as he saw them running off. Instead, he returned her gaze, but with a more friendly one and put on his usual charm.

""…Oh man I am so sorry about that! It was my friend's fault" he spurted out. Noticing it didn't do much, he extended a friendly hand.

"Guess we got oof on the wrong foot, I'm Cial what's your name?" he tried asking her. Instead she replied with cold, sarcastic comment and slammed the door in his face.

Cial sighed. That's what he got for trying to be friendly.

**The Reaping**

Linnet felt very uncomfortable as she entered the stage area. Her pace was slow as she wandered around looking for her place to stand. It didn't help when one of the peacekeepers shuffled up behind her as she pondered. Linnet's breath hitched in her throat for a moment. She shook. Her memories flashed back to that time, after the reaping, he grabbed her shoulder, pulled her back into that dark alley, then started unbuttoning his trousers…

She took a deep breath, adjusted her brown dress and walked away. She kept a calm composure on her face, but inside she was shaking. Eventually she just stood amongst some other girls.

Cial entered the area and around the same time. He couldn't help but admire how the place had been decorated. The stage was in between two impressive looking oak trees. Aside from that, the stage was decorated with blooming ivy vines. He marvelled at the extravagance of the place, then looked over his outfit again; just a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. He sighed but smiled. As he found somewhere to stand, he casually scanned over the girl's section and spotted the same girl from earlier. The one who had her house damaged by his friend's axe. He sent her a quick friendly smile and a wave. The girl gave him the cold shoulder and looked at the stage. Cial shrugged it off and glanced up to see what was happening.

Sure enough, the escort had finally arrived, despite being late. She was quite a pretty looking young woman. Her straight black hair hung in a ponytail down her back neatly. She wore a cute red dress covered with cherry blossoms with matching heels and a jacket. A shining dolphin necklace hung below her collarbone. She tapped the microphone carefully and spoke gently.

"Hello, I am Zoey Redbird, and I think you all know why I'm here" she said, no more no less. She didn't speak again until the film finished and she selected the first name.

Linnet stood anxiously through the silence.

"…Linnet North" Zoey announced calmly.

Anger swept through Linnet's mind. Sheer anger. She couldn't believe she was being forced into this, she didn't want to believe it. Not only that, she thought back to her aunt and uncle. They didn't even care as she left the house. There was no goodbye hug or word of advice. Now she was here, alone.

But then she thought back. She thought back to every note, every clip of every hunger games she had watched. Evaluations of her chances of winning were calculated in a flash in her mind. She came up with one simple result.

She could win.

Not showing any of her inner turmoil, she gracefully stepped up on stage.

Cial followed the girl's movements up on stage.

'Poor girl, she's not having a good day' he thought.

The black haired escort picked out another name.

"…Cial Grandon"

His pity turned to fear.

He couldn't….he couldn't kill anyone. It seemed so unlikely, he didn't expect his name. He couldn't deny it. He was terrified. Terrified and agitated. He soon noticed everyone moving away from him. Despite his fear, Cial found himself shuffling up to the stage. Zoey nodded to each of them before continuing.

"Here our District 7's tributes for this year, Linnet North and Cial Grandon. Shakes hands and we will leave"

Linnet glared and Cial, who once again offered a friendly hand, though reluctantly this time she took it.


	9. Just A Note

**Just a note, since I am going on holiday for a week this story will be put on hold until further notice because I will have no access to my laptop) but don't worry because I will continue with it when I get back!**


	10. Discontinuing

**I'm truly sorry about this, but I'm afraid I will be discontinuing this fanfic.**

**I know many of you may be very irritated with me about this but I will be honest, after the reapings and the train rides I wasn't entirely sure where this story was going, and my ideas for this story were slowly deteriorating. Also, with other fanfics of mine, such as a new one I am writing which requires a massive amount of original characters, it is difficult to focus. **

**This may come off as a poor excuse to some of you, but this is my only explanation. **

**If I find the time, I may start a new hunger games SYOT, when I'm settled with my other fanfics.**

**Once again, very sorry.**


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